News

(Carson City, NV; August 24, 2010) – Nevada businesses are spending far less time and money filing paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office than they were just six months ago. The office has cut processing times down from several weeks to just two to three days.

The Commercial Recordings and Customer Service Divisions handle thousands of business transactions and customer inquiries every week. The Divisions’ workload increased significantly last October 1 when the Secretary of State’s office assumed responsibility for issuing the State Business License from the Department of Taxation. That new task was taken on as the agency, like all state agencies, were feeling the brunt of staff reductions and mandatory furlough days brought on by the state’s budget crisis. Business customers also felt the impacts by waiting up to ten weeks at one point last spring to get their business license or file their annual list of officers.

Secretary Miller went to legislators during the February, 2010, special session to relay his concerns about the impacts budget cuts were having on service to Nevada’s business customers. He said he feared businesses would get frustrated and start organizing and paying their fees in other states, which would jeopardize a significant revenue stream for the state. The Legislature responded by funding the reinstatement of several positions that had been previously eliminated in the Secretary of State’s office.

In addition to filling the reinstated positions, Secretary Miller’s office made internal organizational changes to streamline how filings were processed and how the volume of phone calls was managed (the office averages more than 20,000 phone calls every month). The office also placed extra emphasis on the benefits of filing certain documents online. As a result, business customers who don’t file online will now receive their new or renewed annual business license in just two to three days. All other transactions, including filing articles of organization/incorporation and initial and annual lists of officers, stock changes, copies of filed documents, and others filings will also be processed in just two or three days, a 96% improvement in turn-around times compared to just a few short months ago.

“I’m very pleased to report that Nevada businesses are again getting the service from my office that they deserve,” Secretary Miller said. “The last thing state government should do, especially in these difficult economic times, is add to the burdens businesses already bear. But we’re not done. This same focus and team effort are going into the development of the new Nevada Business Portal, which represents an unprecedented advancement in the delivery of online services for Nevada businesses. The technical team is hard at work and we look forward to delivering a tremendous new service to our clients early next year.”

For more information on the Business Portal, business filings and the Secretary of State’s Commercial Recordings Division, visit the Business Center at www.nvsos.gov. ###